Ckrawiec
Well-Known Member
OK, so my 2017 Spark 2Up was showing an iBR fault....iBR wouldn't work, but bucket was in the UP position so the ski could go forward (but no Brake or Reverse functions).
Long story short....I had rebuilt this ski (from a broken hull situation) and simply swapped everything from the broken hull into the new hull including the iBR module. The new hull did not have the hole for the iBR so I had to drill that one into the new hull.
Fast forward to NOW: iBR Fault (I DON'T take anything to the dealer btw...too far away, too expensive, big PITA, so I do not know what the fault code was), so everything I do is do-it-yourself....DISCLAIMER: Don't do what I do unless you accept the risk of making it worse potentially......caveat emptor.
Now for the fun stuff, pulled the ski out of the water, took the top deck off, took off the rear bucket, etc.....UNSCREWED the iBR control arm from the rear exterior hull (did NOT have to remove the jet pump to get this out (hooray)). Took out the muffler assembly, removed the iBR module inside the hull. The iBR module is seated LOW in the hull so it can get wet, therefore it is HIGHLY sealed with black silicone on both TOP (the mechanical side) and BOTTOM (the electric connection side). I ONLY took off the TOP section to get at the mechanical stuff....work slowly and diligently to wedge your way into the module, you don't want to break the inner plastic "male" piece that is molded into the upper case...it mates into a female channel in the main body of the iBR module. This channel is filled with the sealant....it is a PITA to get in there but it can be done.....PATIENCE.
What I found.....NOT MUCH.....a small, simple 12V motor, plastic gears, a plastic runner (has BOTH interior and EXTERIOR threads) that runs back and forth on a metal threaded shaft that also moves a plastic arm (that I presume hits forward and reverse contact switches in the lower (electric side) of the iBR module (which I did not open up). That's it...pretty simple arrangement.
What we figured out......OK, so if the iBR module is in place in the ski, the control arm that passes through the hull (that attaches to the bucket) is THREADED ONTO the exterior threads of the plastic runner on the metal shaft (so as the plastic runner runs up and down the shaft it is pushing/pulling the control arm and moving the bucket UP & DOWN accordingly). A couple things need to all be aligned so the mechanism works properly.....the plastic runner needs to be in the proper position on the shaft inside the module so when you thread the control arm onto the plastic runner...1) ALL (or MOST) of the plastic runner exterior threads are engaged into the control arm (interior threaded) and 2) the control arm is simultaneously pulling the iBR module tight to the inside back of the hull and 3) the control arm also pulls tightly to the outside back of the hull to form a watertight seal (there is an O-Ring on the control arm shaft assembly that squeezes tight to the hull).
SO, it is important that you start with the plastic runner on the shaft in the right position....but YOU can't see this position unless the iBR cover is OFF. I'm sure the factory positioning is set right before they seal it up...but could the plastic runner ever unthread itself from the control rod if it isn't properly engaged (this is what I found)....my control arm was NOT engaged with the plastic runner - so NO bucket action - the plastic arm (controlled by the plastic runner on the shaft) was hitting the limit switches and was probably OVER-TRAVELLING since the rear control arm was not attached.
It took a couple try's, trial and error until we found just the right position for the plastic runner to accept the control arm and to pull everything together tightly for a watertight seal. Once we found the correct position (for the plastic runner), we dis-assembled everything, applied silicone to the rear of the iBR module that touches the inside rear hull, siliconed the control arm O-ring, lightly greased the iBR shaft and gears......then re-assembled the control arm into the plastic runner making sure everything pulled tightly together AND the control arm STOPS in the right orientation to mate with the bucket. The end of the control arm has a flat spot that needs to stop vertically. THEN we tested the iBR module (we muscled the ski deck into a position to get the electric connections hooked up, started the ski and made sure the control arm was moving back and forth on the outside of the ski (which will move the bucket eventually). When everything checked out.....we applied a bead of silicone to the female channel of the iBR module and placed the top cover back on seating it into the channel and then putting all the SS screws back in by hand....hand tight, not ratchet tight since you don't want to run the risk of stripping out the plastic. NOT too much silicone either as you don't want it squeezing INSIDE the module and possibly buggering up the gears, etc.....a little bead all the way around goes a long way. Re-connected the bucket, re-installed the muffler assembly, re-installed the top deck, etc....SUCCESS!
The whole operation took my son & I about 3 hours from out of the water to back on the water (towed both ways).......Happy to say....the iBR works now.
It is a pretty simple mechanism and SHOULD NOT COST $800.00 or more for a replacement module........and I'd bet that MOST shops would just try to sell you a replacement instead of trying to fix what you got. HMMMM...3 hours labor @ $100.00?/hour = $300.00.....OR $300.00 + $800.00 = $1,100.00 plus downtime in the shop......Just MHO!
Long story short....I had rebuilt this ski (from a broken hull situation) and simply swapped everything from the broken hull into the new hull including the iBR module. The new hull did not have the hole for the iBR so I had to drill that one into the new hull.
Fast forward to NOW: iBR Fault (I DON'T take anything to the dealer btw...too far away, too expensive, big PITA, so I do not know what the fault code was), so everything I do is do-it-yourself....DISCLAIMER: Don't do what I do unless you accept the risk of making it worse potentially......caveat emptor.
Now for the fun stuff, pulled the ski out of the water, took the top deck off, took off the rear bucket, etc.....UNSCREWED the iBR control arm from the rear exterior hull (did NOT have to remove the jet pump to get this out (hooray)). Took out the muffler assembly, removed the iBR module inside the hull. The iBR module is seated LOW in the hull so it can get wet, therefore it is HIGHLY sealed with black silicone on both TOP (the mechanical side) and BOTTOM (the electric connection side). I ONLY took off the TOP section to get at the mechanical stuff....work slowly and diligently to wedge your way into the module, you don't want to break the inner plastic "male" piece that is molded into the upper case...it mates into a female channel in the main body of the iBR module. This channel is filled with the sealant....it is a PITA to get in there but it can be done.....PATIENCE.
What I found.....NOT MUCH.....a small, simple 12V motor, plastic gears, a plastic runner (has BOTH interior and EXTERIOR threads) that runs back and forth on a metal threaded shaft that also moves a plastic arm (that I presume hits forward and reverse contact switches in the lower (electric side) of the iBR module (which I did not open up). That's it...pretty simple arrangement.
What we figured out......OK, so if the iBR module is in place in the ski, the control arm that passes through the hull (that attaches to the bucket) is THREADED ONTO the exterior threads of the plastic runner on the metal shaft (so as the plastic runner runs up and down the shaft it is pushing/pulling the control arm and moving the bucket UP & DOWN accordingly). A couple things need to all be aligned so the mechanism works properly.....the plastic runner needs to be in the proper position on the shaft inside the module so when you thread the control arm onto the plastic runner...1) ALL (or MOST) of the plastic runner exterior threads are engaged into the control arm (interior threaded) and 2) the control arm is simultaneously pulling the iBR module tight to the inside back of the hull and 3) the control arm also pulls tightly to the outside back of the hull to form a watertight seal (there is an O-Ring on the control arm shaft assembly that squeezes tight to the hull).
SO, it is important that you start with the plastic runner on the shaft in the right position....but YOU can't see this position unless the iBR cover is OFF. I'm sure the factory positioning is set right before they seal it up...but could the plastic runner ever unthread itself from the control rod if it isn't properly engaged (this is what I found)....my control arm was NOT engaged with the plastic runner - so NO bucket action - the plastic arm (controlled by the plastic runner on the shaft) was hitting the limit switches and was probably OVER-TRAVELLING since the rear control arm was not attached.
It took a couple try's, trial and error until we found just the right position for the plastic runner to accept the control arm and to pull everything together tightly for a watertight seal. Once we found the correct position (for the plastic runner), we dis-assembled everything, applied silicone to the rear of the iBR module that touches the inside rear hull, siliconed the control arm O-ring, lightly greased the iBR shaft and gears......then re-assembled the control arm into the plastic runner making sure everything pulled tightly together AND the control arm STOPS in the right orientation to mate with the bucket. The end of the control arm has a flat spot that needs to stop vertically. THEN we tested the iBR module (we muscled the ski deck into a position to get the electric connections hooked up, started the ski and made sure the control arm was moving back and forth on the outside of the ski (which will move the bucket eventually). When everything checked out.....we applied a bead of silicone to the female channel of the iBR module and placed the top cover back on seating it into the channel and then putting all the SS screws back in by hand....hand tight, not ratchet tight since you don't want to run the risk of stripping out the plastic. NOT too much silicone either as you don't want it squeezing INSIDE the module and possibly buggering up the gears, etc.....a little bead all the way around goes a long way. Re-connected the bucket, re-installed the muffler assembly, re-installed the top deck, etc....SUCCESS!
The whole operation took my son & I about 3 hours from out of the water to back on the water (towed both ways).......Happy to say....the iBR works now.
It is a pretty simple mechanism and SHOULD NOT COST $800.00 or more for a replacement module........and I'd bet that MOST shops would just try to sell you a replacement instead of trying to fix what you got. HMMMM...3 hours labor @ $100.00?/hour = $300.00.....OR $300.00 + $800.00 = $1,100.00 plus downtime in the shop......Just MHO!
